The worlds most dangerous road

We came back to La Paz the same way we had left and flew, now more convinced than ever that the bus was not worth it!
As soon as we came back we got our bags back but the hostel we had stayed in had no rooms and before we left we had found ladies underwear between the sheets, and not the small sexy kind but the big washed out Grey kind. To say the least we didn't really feel like spending more nights there. So instead we had to go hunting for a new hostel.
Our time in La paz we spent doing not much at all. We went shopping and bought a Llama fetus for my sister. And also we did a tour to go on bike down the worlds most dangerous road!
We went with a tour operator called B-side adventure and the only thing that was bad was that unfortunately the pictures they took was of really really bad quality. I have seen some bad pictures but here literally half the pictures had to be taken away because you couldn't see what was on them.

this is where one girl drove off the cliff

Other than that everything was perfect. Excellent safety and nice and friendly guides.
We started the tour early in the morning and they drove us in a van up to 5700m above sea level and from there we were going to go down 3600m over 65km of road.
We got our nice full suspension bikes and 15-20 minutes to try them out.
It was freezing that high up and I could feel my hands getting really stiff which worried me a little bit about the going down part.
But as soon as we started going it felt really good. The first section is paved and a fast downhill section with beautiful scenery. We did a couple of stops on the way and then we came down to a police checkpoint were we had to pay the entrance tax to go down the Death road.
The road is not used anymore because they have built a new better and safer road so although the road is still open there is hardly any traffic at all on it.
As soon as we had started to go down you could feel the climate getting hotter, during the descent we were going to pass through 4 different kinds of climate zones from highland Puna to subtropical rain forest.
The death road is a dirt road and when you see it its hard to believe it was actually a heavily used road just 3 years ago.
But keeping that in mind its easy to understand how 15 people a month died in road accidents.

On the decent we went for maybe 20 minutes and then the guide stopped gave us some new information about the section to come and then we went on. This we kept doing all the way down, and all along the sides we kept seeing crosses after people who had died there.
Also the guide told us stories about tourist and guides who had lost control or have had accidents even after the traffic has gone away.
After the decent which was filled with adrenaline and beautiful views we came to the town were the downhill ended so we got back in the car and drove up to a hotel were we got to swim in the swimming pool take a shower and after that an amazing lunch!
This was the whole tour and after 12h we were back in La Paz and ready to go to Rio De Janeiro to meet Steffi's brother and father and also of course experience the carnival!

600m straight down

Cheers!

Chris!

written by

Steffi & Chris on February 9, 2010 from La Paz, Bolivia

from the travel blog: 212 days

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Great pictures. need to work on your grammar and writting skills.

written by Jerry on March 7, 2010

Ok i will make sure to work hard on my writting skills....

written by

Steffi & Chris on March 8, 2010

Death Road! Ni gjorde det! =) Vad nice!
Det ar inte manga som kan saga att de har gjort det!
Riktigt lackert verkade det vara vid amazonfloden ocksa.
Vilka vyer, vilka djur, vilken stamning! Nice att cruisa fram pa en tyst liten bat sadar.
Efter de har inlaggen langtar vi som darar pa att fa borja resa igen, Nya Zeeland nasta! =) Nu ar det lite "ata, jobba, sova" Vi har helt enkelt inte pengar annu =) Men snart sa bar det av!!
Kul att det borjat komma in massa inlagg pa er blogg igen, old style.
Jag gillar att ni forsvann i graset nar ni letade efter anacondas. Hur var det att flyga ett sa litet plan?
Ha det guld sa hores vi!

written by Jonte on March 10, 2010

Wow, I really loved your posts and photos from South America! They reminded me of my own time there and how amazing it was! My blog is giving away a free night in Peru or Bolivia, if you know anyone who might be interested. All you have to do is become a follower of our blog and a fan of the hostel. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com. Continued fun on your travels!

Heather :)

written by Heather on May 13, 2010

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